


Twenty Years Later

by microgiraffe



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Sun & Moon | Pokemon Sun & Moon Versions
Genre: M/M, Red uses sign language, also blue cusses a lot, also extreme slow burn, also he is blue in this because im american, i dont even know if its accurate to say theres a relationship in this because there really isn't, itll be there eventually, like incredibly slow, lots of characters really, some are minor appearances, this is called blues midlife crisis in my docs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-21
Updated: 2018-10-15
Packaged: 2019-07-15 05:00:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,209
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16056047
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/microgiraffe/pseuds/microgiraffe
Summary: Blue Oak's grown up. (At least, he thinks he has.) Is it normal for everything in your life to change when you've just hit 30, though?Well, it's probably time for a change in scenery, anyway.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> One of Blue's favorite words is "fuck," and there's a little violence

His grandfather called him back home, which was weird in it of itself. That never happened. Ever. Not since he moved out at least ten years ago. But it wasn’t really his grandfather’s fault, Blue supposed. He did completely ignore any and all phone calls from the number he’s had memorized since he was in preschool. His sister used to call him and complain to him about how his grandfather would be upset for never being able to get through. He didn’t really care, though. He could go fuck himself.

Apparently Gramps finally got the common sense to not call from his office phone, as he always did. When Blue got a call from Daisy, he picked it up like he normally would, expecting her to chatter his ear off about whatever customer said what or something. Instead, he got the rushed and old voice of his grandfather cracking though the speaker of his phone. He almost flung it at the wall.

“I have a surprise for you,” he said, as if Blue was five years old again. “Interesting information. Things that need to be discussed in person. You understand.”

He didn’t, really. Anything that could be said in person could be said over the phone. He shrugged and sighed into the phone. “…sure, Gramps. Whatever. I’m kind of busy.”

“Sooner rather than later, Blue. This is time-sensitive.”

“I—” Blue dragged a hand over his face, staring down at his stack of paperwork. “Gramps. I have work. I’m working. Can’t you just—”

“There’s someone here who wants to speak to you,” he interrupted, and Blue was ready to strangle him through the phone. “Just…as soon as you have the time, come back to the lab. It’s important.”

“Gramps—”

“Thank you, Blue, I’ll see you soon.” And silence.

Shocking.

The next day, Blue hung up the “closed” sign he never used, texting his trainers and telling them they didn’t need to come in today. It felt…weird. He hadn’t closed the gym in a while.

The trek back down Route 1 was a quiet one. It was early enough in the morning that no kids were running around in the tall grass, trying to catch a Rattata or something. A Pidgey cooed from a tree next to the path. It felt surreal. A little unnerving, actually.

Pallet was quiet, too. Unsurprising, since it was about six in the morning and most normal people would probably be asleep. It had been a while since he had actually been in town. Not since Daisy got really sick a few months ago and he stopped by in the evenings to check up on her. The lights in her house were off. Unsurprising. The lights in Red’s old house were out. Also unsurprising, considering no one lived there anymore.

And the lights were on in the lab.

_Unsurprising_.

He pulled open the heavy glass door and looked at the receptionist. She looked…familiar. Maybe. “Is Professor Oak in?” He asked, frowning at how weird the name sounded. That’s something he hadn’t said in a long-ass time.

“Of course he is, Blue. You know how he is,” she said, typing away on her computer. “You know your way around, right?”

He gave her a thumbs-up and peeked over the desk as he passed by, glancing at her nametag. _Monika. That…sounds right._ “Thanks, Monika.” Sounded weird, but he pushed his way through the doors that led to the main part of the lab.

As he passed by interns and workers, he felt even more out of place. He used to be a part of this world, but…that dream was given up a lifetime ago. (Not totally his fault, he had to remind himself.)

He knocked twice before letting himself into Oak’s office, slamming the door behind him. “Alright, Gramps. I’m taking off of work for whatever—”

He felt his heart jump up into his throat and he choked on his words, staring wide-eyed at the pair of men sitting in front of him.

“Blue! Great, I wasn’t expecting you to be here today, or this early, actually—”

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Red looked away from his glare and Blue felt his face flare up. Oak frowned. “Blue, watch your—”

“What the fuck is he doing here?”

“Blue!”

“Why the fuck are you here?” Red kept his eyes on the wall behind Oak, his hands balled up in fists and gripping tightly on the hem of his shirt. “I’m fucking talking to you, the least you could do is _fucking_ _look at me_ —”

“ _Blue!_ ” Oak slammed his fist on the hardwood desk, the mug of probably cold coffee jostling and spilling over a bit. Red’s eyes switched over quickly from the wall to the mug, watching carefully as the coffee started to seep into and stain the desk. “I didn’t invite you here to fight. The least you could do is _pretend_ to be a civil human being.”

“He’s the one who’s been fucking around _who knows where_ doing _who knows what_ for _who knows how long_! Why the fuck is he here?!”

Oak sighed and slowly sat back down in his chair, taking a pained sip of his coffee. “You two can deal with your problems after I’ve finished saying what I called you here to say, Blue. I’m sure you want to get back to work at the gym as soon as possible.”

At the mention of the gym, Blue saw Red glance over at him out of the corner of his eye. Probably confused. _That’s what you get for not being in touch with society since the nineties, you fuck._ “Sure. Whatever.” He stayed standing at the door. The only open chair was right next to Red, and Arceus be fucked if he was about to sit next to him.

“Well, have you heard of Alola?” He started, flipping over a little booklet and holding it out towards Blue. “Tropical region made up of four islands, about ten hours flight from here. They’ve recently gotten their League finished, actually.”

He snatched the pamphlet out of Oak’s hand and flipped through it. It was all pictures of beaches and sunsets. A couple of pictures caught his eye, mainly the one of the Aether Foundation and one of some kind of party. ( _Wasn’t that called a luau or something?_ ) There were tons of exotic Pokémon in the picture. “What about it?”

“Well, that region’s professor contacted me about three months ago, talking about his plans to build the league and whatnot. About a month ago, he called me again and started talking about a battle facility he wanted to make. I think there’s something in the flyer about it, actually.”

Blue flipped back through the pages until the words _Climb to the top! Battle Tree!_ were splayed on top of the page. “What about _that_?”

“He wants champions to help out.”

Blue paused and stared hard at Oak. “Champions?”

“Yes, he told me he already contacted the champions from Sinnoh and Hoenn about it—”

“I’m still considered a champion?” He felt his lip twitch before he broke out into a grin. “They still consider me a champion? _Really_?”

Oak hummed as he took another sip of his coffee. “Well, of course. Even if it was short-lived, your name _is_ still in the Hall of Fame, Blue—”

“Fuck yeah!”

“And that would explain why Red is here, I hope,” Oak stated sourly, giving Blue a judgmental look. “You’ll be leaving next month, and he didn’t say how long you all will be staying there. Until it really gets running, I believe he said. Lance already knows, so don’t worry about the details of the gym—” he flipped though more papers again— "Ah. Here.” He held out two plane tickets, one to both Red and Blue. “Your tickets. Take heed of when they leave, please. You only get the one ticket.”

Blue stared at the ticket in awe and almost crumpled it up in his excitement. “Alright, sweet! Is that it?”

“Well, yes, but—”

“Alright, great, see you in a month!” Blue spun around and swung the door back open.

As the door closed, Blue felt like throwing up and started his quick walk out of the stuffy lab. When he heard the door close again, he almost felt like fleeing. He spun around and watched as Red froze in place, looking like a complete stranger. “Well.”

Red said nothing. _Unsurprising_.

“What do you want?”

He looked at Blue for a moment, glancing between his face and his shoes. He started to lift up his hands but paused, choosing instead to just shrug.

“Great. Well, _you_ can keep fucking around for all I care. I don’t know how he got you to come home, and honestly? I don’t really give a shit.” As he turned around, Red made a noise. It sounded a bit like a croak, and it made him flinch. He looked back at Red.

_We need to talk_ , he signed slowly and shakily, obviously unpracticed in his signing. It’s not like Blue was any better. It took him a bit digging around in his brain to figure out what Red was saying.

“If I read that right, you said we need to talk. Right?” A nod. “That’s funny. And I don’t have anything to say to you.” He splayed his hands out in front of him, shrugging. “You’ve been gone for…ten years? At least. If you really wanted to say something you could have called.”

Red looked offended before Blue really understood what he said. And he knew he was being a dick. A major one. As Red lifted up his hands again, Blue opted to shut his eyes, sealing his fate as the world’s worst asshole. “Sorry, can’t hear you. Speak up a bit?”

Blue heard the palm smacking across his cheek more than he felt it, and his eyes flew open to see his fist flying towards Red’s nose. “You don’t get to hit me! You don’t get to do that! You’re the one that’s been gone for _more than a decade,_ you don’t _get_ to hit me!” Punch after punch flew at Red, and they were on the floor and Red was trying to curl up on himself and block his face and Blue could barely breathe anymore. “Don’t _fucking_ hit me, you don’t _get_ that _privilege!_ ”

“ _S-sss-s-s-st-t-t-op-p!!_ ” Red stuttered out, his eyes scrunched up in pain. “ _S-s-stop-p-p!_ ”

“ _Fuck you!_ ” Blue spat out, feeling nothing but hot. “ _Fuck! You!_ You dropped off the planet for _fifteen fucking years!_ Me being rude doesn’t even _equal_ you being _dead_ to the world!”

His fist swung back down over Red’s face and he froze as his grandfather rushed down the hall. “ _I-ii-I-I-iii—_ ”

“ _Blue!_ ”

He was fucked.

He sat fuming in his grandfather’s office, glaring hard at the wall. He felt like a kid again, and that wasn’t a good thing. He looked down at the drying blood on his fist and bit his lip, huffing a sigh. He couldn’t even look at Red as his grandfather yanked him off of him, but he sure heard him crying and sniffing and hyperventilating. Did he feel bad?

Nope.

Red completely deserved every punch and insult. And damn, did that feel good. To an extent. He hadn’t fought anyone since elementary school. All of his pent-up rage towards Red must have burst when he saw him sitting in Oak’s office. Like he had been there for his whole life. Like he hadn’t vanished off of the face of the earth for years and years and _years_.

Oak walked in the office and slammed the door behind him. Blue kept his eyes on the wall. “Blue, I sure hope you have an explanation.”

“Why?”

“You—” His grandfather’s face turned red. Blue hoped he had a heart attack. “You’re, what, twenty? Twenty-five? You can’t just—you just beat someone up! As if you were a child!”

“First, I just turned thirty. Second, he fucking deserved it and you can’t tell me otherwise.”

“How am I supposed to say good things about you to people?”

“When have you ever said anything good about me?”

“Blue—”

“I’m leaving.” He stood up and felt nauseous. “Thanks for the plane ticket. I’m not coming back here ever again.”

As he walked towards the door, Oak grabbed out and snatched his wrist, tightly grasping it in his hand. “Stop acting like a child or I’ll treat you like one.”

“When have you ever treated me like a child?”

They stared in each other’s faces for a hot minute. Oak shut his eyes and sighed tensely through his nose, letting go of Blue’s wrist. “Get your attitude in check before you spend a month in another region. I don’t need any calls or emails about you as if you were still in preschool.”

“Fine.”

“And you’re going to apologize to Red.”

“Nope.”

He calmly fled the room as fast as he could.


	2. Chapter 2

A week later and Blue was sitting curled up on his couch one evening, cuddling a half-pint of ice cream and watching Eevee play around on the floor with one of her toys. He glanced down warily at his phone and frowned as it refused to light up. He hadn’t received any calls since he left the lab. Not from his grandfather, and not from Daisy. Hell would freeze over before Red would try and call him.

As Eevee jumped up and threw her toy around, his phone suddenly started vibrating loudly and he flinched out of his seat. He picked it up ( _not eagerly_ ) and frowned in confusion at the caller ID. It wasn’t one he recognized. Great. Some telemarketer. He tossed his phone down on the carpet and rolled his eyes when Eevee got startled and tried to attack it.

He picked up the remote to the old TV and clicked it on, flipping through a few stations before landing on the news channel. The basics were being covered. Weather, rare Pokémon sightings. The usual. A short segment about Alola came on after the ads, and he kicked himself back and watched in interest.

A dark-skinned man came on the screen with a bright smile, and Blue, despite his Alolan being terrible at best, could swear every other word that came out of his mouth was “yeah.” The newscaster translated and introduced him as Professor Kukui, the region’s Pokémon Professor. Young and handsome. Probably charismatic, from what Blue could see on-screen. Kukui gestured to a young girl that stood behind him, and the woman translating introduced her as Selene, the region’s first and only Champion.

She was a pretty cute kid, he had to admit. A bit of an unnerving smile, but she was probably just nervous. He did research on the League when he got back home a few weeks ago, and learned she was from Kanto. Well, at least one person other than Red would be able to understand him there.

The segment lasted a few minutes, mostly talking about the battle and a few clips from it. Blue didn’t recognize any of the Pokémon being used at all. As they cut away for break, they included a quip about the Battle Tree, saying there would be more information after the commercials.

Eevee jumped as his phone vibrated on the floor again.

Another two weeks later and Blue’s flight was set to leave that Friday. The week was pretty uneventful so far. Only one challenger swung by the gym, and she lost big-time, barely scraping past the first trainer. He got a call from Daisy the same day, and she reprimanded him for what he did nearly a month ago. All he could think to say was, “Why get pissy now and not a month ago?” She didn’t really have an answer for that.

She told him to make sure he packed enough clothes and toiletries and all that other stuff she normally told him about. ( _Brush up on some basic Alolan pleasantries! Make sure you bring plenty of shorts, it’s pretty hot there. Take lots of pictures! Oh, and catch me something cute!_ ) At the end of the conversation, she said, “oh, and Grandpa said—”

“Don’t be an asshole, right?” Blue finished, and he could see Daisy’s frown from miles away. “Or, basically that, I’m sure. _Be sure to play nice, don’t bully anyone_. Yeah, I’ve heard it before, Daisy.”

“Blue, that’s not—”

“Is it about Red?”

She fell silent but sighed. “Well, sort of. He said to make sure you two don’t stray too far from each other. You remember how Red gets around a lot of people. And watch out for each other. It is still a foreign country.”

Blue rolled his eyes and scratched behind Eevee’s ear as she jumped up in his lap. “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. I know.”

“Also, um.”

Blue waited, but when she didn’t say anything, he huffed a sigh. “What Daisy?”

“Um…” Her voice dropped to a hush. “Red…said he missed you.”

“No, he didn’t,” he said through instinct alone. “He can’t say anything.”

“Well, I mean—” Daisy snapped, then stopped herself. “You know what I mean. Don’t be rude, Blue.”

“It’s who I am, sis. Oh, look, a trainer. Gotta go!”

“Blue—”

He hung up on her and felt only a little guilty.

The plane was supposed to leave in less than two hours and Blue wasn’t exactly packed. He scrambled around his house looking for anything to bring along with him, stuff to do on the ten-hour, non-stop flight across the ocean. He snatched both his GameBoy and 3DS and shoved them onto his carry-on bag, along with a book and some magazines he had sitting on his dining room table that he hadn’t opened since they arrived in the mail.

He threw open his dresser and closet and yanked out tank-tops and t-shirts and shorts and jeans and, for good measure, a few pairs of sandals to wear on the beach. Speaking of the beach, he dug around in the bottom drawer of his dresser for his swim trunks, hoping they still fit him after not swimming for at least five years. As he thought about it, the last time he went to a beach was in Unova. Which would make it more like around ten years.

He sloppily folded his clothes and forced the zipper to close. He stuck his laptop in his carry-on bag, and made sure he had all his chargers and his toothbrush and toothpaste and mouthwash and soap ( _and underwear (thanks Daisy).)_ The last thing he needed to do was text his trainers and get his Pok _é_ balls and then fuck out of there. His phone rang and he yelped, rummaging through his bags to find it. Pulling it out of a stack of boxers, he answered with a brisk “’sup.”

“ _Blue!_ ” Shouted his grandfather’s voice, and he rolled his eyes. “Where on _Earth_ are you?! Red just sent me a message asking where you were!”

He looked down at his watch and frowned. He spent more time getting his shit together than he thought he did. “Look, I’ll, uh…I’ll just fly there, on Pidgeot, okay? I’ll get there in time, don’t worry.”

“It’s not—Blue! I assumed you would be there by now, and that’s why I left to get back to Pallet. Where are you?”

“Uh…”

“I know you aren’t packing.”

“I’ll be there in like thirty minutes, I swear!” He hung up on Oak and slowly blew out air from his nose. _Well, shit._

Blue landed in front of the international airport and recalled Pidgeot as he ran through the doors. He was ten minutes late. He stood waiting to be checked in and started looking around the airport for Red. He couldn’t see him anywhere.

As he rushed over to the gate, he gave a quick sigh ( _of relief_ ) when he saw Red sitting awkwardly right next to the entrance to the gate, his hands balled up in tight fists as he kept his eyes on the gate, probably waiting for it to open.

“Sorry I’m late,” he greeted, sounding as awkward as Red looked. “I, uh. Wasn’t…packed.”

Red didn’t look up at him. His nose was still a little bruised from where Blue punched him ( _read: beat his face in_ ) a month ago. His hand twitched as a sign he heard him.

“You good, man?”

No response that time. Blue sat next to him and rolled his fingers over his knee, tapping away. He saw Red’s backpack sitting next to him on the floor, and he suddenly remembered a lot of weird things. Like Daisy telling him everything he would need while he was in Alola, and how it was required to leave your Pokémon in your PC while you were on your flight.

Red was probably panicking right now.

Blue gave Red the window seat, since their seats were right next to each other. He probably had never been on a plane, before. He remembered ten years ago, in Unova during the World Championships, and how Red said he flew there on Charizard. As the plane took off, Red gripped the armrests and stared out the window with something akin to pure horror. Blue instantly pulled out one of his magazines and started flipping through it once the plane had stabilized.

He had completely read through four of his five magazines when Red finally let go of the seat.

Blue had fallen asleep after around three or four hours. When something touched his arm, he jumped up and snapped his head around, making eye contact with Red. “…what?”

He tapped the window and pointed out of it, not waiting for Blue to catch on. He peered around Red’s head and looked out to see Mt. Coronet in all its rocky and snowy glory. Red and his weird fucking obsession with mountains. He caught Red glancing over at him quickly before moving his eyes right back down to watch the mountain slowly pass by under them.

He checked his phone for the time and decided to pass out again, hopefully for the rest of the flight.

The next time Red tapped him on the arm, they were landing. As they got off the plane, Red rushed ahead of him, going straight past the luggage train to probably (hopefully) go get his Pokémon back from the PC. Blue decided to be nice and grab both of their bags.

In the entrance of the airport, Red was sitting on a bench with Pikachu curled up in his lap, playing with her ears. Blue dropped Red’s luggage in front of Red’s feet and gave him a look that said _get the hell up_ _so we can leave_.

His grandfather told him about a week ago about his cousin Samson, who _ever so kindly_ offered to let his first-cousin-twice-removed and his estranged mountain hermit of a rival stay with him for as long as they were needed in Alola. (“ _Be sure to thank him, because he didn’t have to do that and I was ready to tell you to go ahead and book a hotel room_.”) He was supposed to be here ready for them on arrival. Blue could only pray he wasn’t back at the terminal and they missed him completely.

Blue knew immediately who Samson was. The dark-skinned man stuck out like a sore thumb, with his long white hair and flower-printed shorts. It didn’t help he and Samuel had almost the exact same face. ( _Samson looked a million times nicer_.) He greeted them with a warm “alola” and tested the waters with a brief introduction in Alolan. At their completely lost faces, he laughed and switched to Kantonian, repeating himself.

“So! Cousin, and his friend!” He held out a hand for each of them to shake, with a grin on his face. “Good to meet you! The last time I saw you, Blue, you were maybe two years old. So consider this a fresh start!”

Blue thought, _this man isn’t related to me at all and Gramps was pulling my dick_. Blue said, “We aren’t really friends.”

Samson looked a little confused for a moment before shrugging and turning around to show them to where he lived. “Either way, welcome to Alola! I sure hope you two like it here, since you might be stuck for a while.” He laughed, and Red _smiled_ , even if it was for a split second and Blue probably wasn’t supposed to see it.

Blue thought, _what the actual fuck is happening._ Blue didn’t say anything.

As they arrived at Samson’s house (shack), Blue got a bombardment of messages from a number he didn’t recognize.

_Alola and hello!_

_This is Professor Kukui, and I hope this is Blue Oak’s number!_

_Your grandfather gave it to me so I would be able to contact you about the Battle Tree! Hopefully you should be in our waters by now, and I hope you will be able to contact me soon!_

_Alola and talk to you soon! :)_

Blue already felt apprehensive about doing this.

They had to share a room. Blue didn’t say anything to Samson, but as soon as the door closed he spun around to look at Red. “Sorry I beat your face in,” he spat out quickly, suddenly remembering how this adventure started.

Red’s face scrunched up as he dropped his bag on the floor next to the blow-up mattress, taking a moment to let Pikachu out of her ball. _Your sorry equals nothing_ , he signed quickly, and Blue blinked in confusion for a moment before understanding. He must have brushed himself up over the last month.

“Then I’m not sorry!”

_I know_. _A-s-s-u-m-e-d,_ he spelled out, catching on to how long it took Blue to read his hands.

“I should have fucking booked myself a hotel room.”

Red said nothing as he fell back onto the air mattress and Pikachu jumped up onto his chest. He barely caught him sign the letters _a-s-s._

“I should beat you up again.”

_G-r-a-n-d—_

“ _Shut up!_ ”

Dinner was uneventful. Samson cooked for them, some kind of ocean delicacy that Blue had never heard of. Either way, it was good. As they retired for the night, he couldn’t help but watch Red as he fed Pikachu in the room. “Hey,” Blue said quietly, confused as to what exactly he was trying to do.

Red didn’t look over at him until Pikachu had finished her meal. He gave a thumbs-up to show he was ready to listen.

“Uh…I don’t really know if I was supposed to know this, but Daisy said you said you missed me.”

Red frowned, giving a thumbs-down. ( _What the fuck does that mean._ )

“So she lied.” Blue gave an exhausted laugh. “Figures.”

Red shook his head. _No lie_ , he signed, a bit hesitantly. _I…did. No more._

Blue frowned and thought, _what the fuck does **that** mean?_ “Uh, okay…? If you missed me, you know, you could’ve written a letter or sent an email or _came home_ or _something_ —”

_No_ , he said, spelling it quickly and without any hesitation.

“But don’t worry, it’s not like I’m _bitter_ or anything. You only vanished _completely_ and without any notice and left the World Championships at least a week early just so you could _fuck off_ to some _other mountain_ —”

_No,_ Red signed again, and Blue could feel his nerves getting worked up again.

“The fuck do you mean, no? No what? It’s true, isn’t it? _Isn’t it_?” Blue rolled his eyes as Red looked away from him. “So which mountain was it this time? Probably not Coronet, since you almost pissed yourself seeing it on the plane. Twist? That’s in Unova. Have you been hiding in Unova for the last ten years? Or Johto? What about Orre? That’s a weird-ass region, perfect for you—”

Red slammed his hands over his ears and curled up in a tight ball on the air mattress, pointedly doing his best to completely ignore Blue’s presence in the room. Blue groaned and flopped down on his bed, rolling over and clicking off the lamp that sat on the nightstand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someday one day these chapters will end on a happy note I swear


	3. Chapter 3

Blue’s phone ringing obnoxiously woke him up with a jolt. Red threw his pillow at him in anger. “Uh…hello?” He answered groggily, not even opening his eyes to answer the call.

“ _Alola!_ ” The voice shouted, and Blue pulled the phone away from his ear. “Is this Blue Oak?”

“Uh, yes? Who is this?”

The voice took a moment to answer. He could barely hear a voice in the background. Blue almost hung up. “This is Professor Kukui! Did you see my texts?”

“…yeah? Um—”

“Ohhh, are you sleeping? Sorry, sorry! I thought you would be awake. It _is_ about eleven in the morning.” Kukui laughed and Blue nearly groaned. “I was calling to see if you were available today to discuss the Battle Tree.”

The man’s Kantonian was stilted, and his accent was thick. “Yeah, uh, okay. Sure.” A book was thrown in his general direction, smacking the wall behind him. “Hey, _fuck off_ , would you?” He hissed, snapping his head towards Red. “I’m on the phone.”

“Great, great. Now, is Mister Red there?”

“Yeah, but, uh—”

“Wonderful!” Blue was getting shades of Samuel Oak and he was hating it. “I would like to talk to both of you, if that is okay?”

“Of _course_ ,” Blue said, putting Kukui on speaker and letting his loud and energetic voice fill the room.

Red flipped him off.

Blue took the rest of the day to explore the rest of the island. Red had fallen back asleep after he hung up the phone with Kukui. Blue was almost tempted to warn him about the jet lag, but decided he wanted to be an asshole for today. He ate the leftovers of the breakfast Samson left for them, not even bothering to heat them up. He grabbed his bookbag, buckled his Pokéballs on his belt, and took off, leaving a short note saying _be back later_ for Samson.

Leaving the city to the north, he felt like a kid again taking off on Route 2, seeing a couple of kids running and playing in the tall grass. He could hear the cries of familiar and unfamiliar Pokémon, Rattata mixed in with Spearow mixed in with Drowzee, and mixed in with something else he couldn’t recognize. He watched a little tiny Pokémon fly out in front of him and whipped out his Pok _é_ dex as fast as he could, scanning it quickly. “…Cutiefly? That’s…” Blue almost laughed to himself. “Perfect.”

He caught the Cutiefly (in a Heal Ball he didn’t think he had) and made a mental note to remember to send it to his sister. Even its Pok _é_ dex entry made him think of Daisy: _Myriads of Cutiefly flutter above the heads of people who have auras resembling those of flowers._

A small thought of transferring some Pokémon to his grandfather entered and left his mind. Another small thought of wondering what Red was up to also entered and left his mind.

It was well after noon and Blue had caught all the new Pokémon on the route and surrounding areas, including his own Alolan Rattata and Meowth. He liked the Meowth, if he was going to be honest with himself. She had a very spunky attitude. Maybe she could rival Red’s Pikachu as far as pure attitude was concerned.

As he turned around to head back to Hau’oli, he watched two preschoolers hunched down in the grass, trying to sneak up on a Yungoos. The girl had a Cutiefly floating next to her and the boy had a Pokéball gripped tightly in his hand.

It was…kind of cute. He watched them out of the corner of his eye as he slowed his walking down as unsuspiciously as possible. They inched closer and closer until the girl pointed at it and her Cutiefly used Stun Spore and Fairy Wind on the wild Pokémon, hitting it square-on. The boy chucked the Pokéball and they both cheered when it sealed shut.

It felt bittersweet meeting tons of preschoolers over the years across the regions. He remembered how upset he was when his grandfather refused to budge on giving him and Red their Pokémon a year or two early. _Pokémon are for big kids_ , Oak had said back then. _Don’t worry, boys, you’ll get them in time._

Seeing little five-year-old kids with Pokémon these days made Blue feel old as hell.

Red was still asleep when Blue got back to Samson’s little hut. Checking his watch, he clicked his tongue when he read 14:28. He let Meowth roam the house as he went in the kitchen to make himself a sandwich to eat.

Maybe ten minutes later, Red stumbled in with Meowth in a nest on his head and Pikachu asleep on his shoulder. Blue wanted to laugh at how pissed off he looked.

_Food_ , he signed, and pointed to Blue’s sandwich. _Where._

They sat and ate. Red made himself four PB-and-J sandwiches, and Blue felt like he would have to apologize for him for eating all of Samson’s food. “Why are you eating so much?” He heard coming out of his mouth before he thought about it. “I was still full from dinner last night. I’m only eating because I was being _productive_ today.”

Red finished off his second sandwich before he raised his hands to speak. _No eat,_ he signed. _Was meat. Ate salad and nothing else._

Blue paused and his mouth made an “o” shape. He forgot Red was vegetarian. “Why didn’t you—uh…say something…?” Blue internally cringed at his phrasing.

Red shrugged, picking up another sandwich with one hand, making an _ok_ sign with his other one. Blue rolled his eyes and kept eating his own. (He may or may not have sent Samson a text asking to pick up some vegetarian food on the way home.)

They sat on opposite sides of the couch as Blue clicked through the stations on the TV. Meowth and Eevee were playing with each other on the carpet and Pikachu was snuggled up on Red’s lap. Samson was out somewhere. He stopped on the news channel and tried to figure out how to get subtitles on the screen when Red patted the couch cushion.

“You want something?” He offered, glancing over at the man.

Red took a moment to respond. _I was everywhere_ , he finally said, with something that looked like guilt crossing his face for a quick moment. _Unova, Sinnoh, Hoenn, Johto. And Orre, short time. Not just mountains. Exploring. Travelling. Catching Pokémon. You know._

Blue didn’t feel like he needed to say anything. Meowth hissed when Eevee accidentally bit her tail. He watched the Kantonian subtitles slowly scroll on the screen as they tried to catch up to the fluent Alolan of the reporter. Red patted the couch again.

_Sorry no contact_ , he signed, and this time a real guilty look crossed his face. And it stayed. _For ten years. Didn’t think to. Busy. Forgot._

“Yeah, I get it.” Blue didn’t really get it.

_Sorry,_ he signed again, slowly.

“It’s cool.”

It wasn’t.

He thanked every godly Pokémon that existed when his phone rang. It was Daisy. He went out on the front porch to answer it. “Blue Oak, what’s up?”

“Oh, hush,” she joked, and Blue almost saw her roll her eyes in annoyance. “How’s Alola treating you, bro?”

“It’s…been one day.”

“Well, yeah, but who knows? Maybe you found some beauty and you’re engaged or something!” She laughed, and he groaned.

“It’s been a single day, Daisy. All I’ve done was…explore.” He snapped his fingers suddenly. “Oh, yeah! I caught you something.”

“Oooh! What is it?” She sounded like a kid.

“It’s called a Cutiefly.” He pinched his fingers close together as if she was there in front of him. “Real tiny thing. Real cute. Pollenates flowers. You’ll like it.”

“…aw!” She must have looked it up. “It’s so cute! Oh, you know what I’d really appreciate? A Vulpix! You know, they’re Ice-Fairy type there. And gorgeous! It’d be great for beauty contests.”

“Come on, Daisy, I’m here for work, not to be your little errand-boy.” He was joking, of course. He’d give anything to just get to explore the whole region and catch Pokémon again.

“Don’t act like you don’t want to.” Something clanked. She was probably doing dishes. “Grandpa said you got to Uncle Samson’s house okay.”

“Yeah, I did,” he said, leaning over the balcony and looking out into the city. “And he’s not our uncle. He’s our first-cousin-twice-removed.”

“How’s Red?”

That wasn’t a question he was expecting. “Fine. Next question.”

“Blue—”

“He apologized.” That shut her up.

“O-oh…um, for what?”

“For disappearing for ten years.” Blue sighed. “I don’t forgive him. At all.”

“Well, I mean…” Daisy hummed, thinking of her next words. “Well. I guess you’re perfectly valid to feel that way. But he’s trying, at least. I think that constitutes for something, doesn’t it? He was really nervous about this trip, you know.”

“Was he.”

“Well, yeah! This is the first time he’s spoken to you in years. And he had never been on an airplane before. And he’s never been to Alola.”

“Well, don’t I feel like something special.” He really hoped all his sarcasm was getting through to Daisy. “He could have talked to me sooner, you know. But, you know how he is. Mute and everything.”

“Blue.” Daisy sounded completely unamused.

“His only excuse was, _I was busy and didn’t think to_. Honestly, I wasn’t exactly expecting any other answer. That’s Red for you. Fucking jerk,” he muttered under his breath. “I don’t know why everyone was so infatuated with him when we were younger. He’s a fucking idiot.”

“Blue!”

“What?” He exclaimed, exasperated. “He is!”

“That’s…not okay to say.”

“I don’t—Daisy,” he started, huffing a sigh. “That’s not what I meant. You know that. I wouldn’t say that about him.”

“You just did—”

“No, I didn’t! I just said he was stupid! I didn’t mean what you think I mean.”

He knew exactly what she was thinking. Rumors spread fast in Pallet, and even faster in school, even for little children. Blue would always tell his classmates, _he’s not slow, he’s really smart! He even knew all his times tables before we went over it in class! And all the Pokémon types and stuff!_

It kind of (really) bothered him that Daisy would even assume he would mean something like that.

“Daisy—”

“Blue—”

They both stopped talking. Blue spoke up first. “That wasn’t what I meant, and you know that,” he snapped. “You should know that. He’s not smart when it comes to people, is what I meant.”

“I…I know. Sorry.” She was quiet for a moment. “You haven’t hit him, have you?”

_What._ “No! Daisy, what—”

“Okay, okay! Sorry. I just…wanted to make sure.”

“That was just.” He sighed out a long breath of air. “That was a one-time thing. I got my anger out. I…needed to do that, as bad as that sounds. Shit, I sound like a total fucking asshole.”

“Yeah, you do,” Daisy said bluntly, making Blue flinch a little. “But I think I get it. I don’t want to support your violence, but sometimes a punch is the only way to get a point across. Figuratively and literally.”

“Yeah, something like that,” he said slowly, glancing back towards the house. “It’s probably really late there, isn’t it? Like, past midnight? Why aren’t you asleep?”

“Oh, um, well…” She sighed. “We, um. Had a bit of an argument.”

“You and Gramps?”

“No.”

Blue’s eyes widened. “Oh. Well, if you, uh…want to talk about it…?”

“No, no, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

“If you say so, sis.”

“Thanks, Blue. Good night.”

“Yeah,” he said, after she had hung up on him.

Dinner was quiet. Samson made ravioli, filled with cheese and plain marinara sauce. Red ate two plates of it. He mentioned bits and pieces of the conversation he had with Daisy to Samson, trying to make some sort of conversation as Red stuffed his face. He left out the more personal stuff, like _I nearly hospitalized Red about a month ago_ and _Daisy and her husband got in an argument, which never fucking happens_.

It was almost midnight and both Red and Blue were still awake. Blue was in the middle of doing work on his computer, and Red was playing with Meowth. Blue was only a little jealous of how quickly she had warmed up to Red. It’s not like she was _his_ Pokémon or anything. But it was fine. Pikachu was curled up on _Blue’s_ lap, watching him type away on his laptop. (He had to pretend it wasn’t just because Red was giving Meowth all his attention and not her, but whatever.)

His phone buzzed and he frowned. Kukui had texted him.

_Alola, cousin! Would you and Red be able to come to Poni Island tomorrow morning? I want to show you around the Battle Tree and get some or any input! Thanks! :)_

“Hey.”

Red inclined his head, not looking up and still playing with Meowth.

“Professor Loudred wants us to go to Poni Island in the morning.” Red snorted. “Yeah, well. That’s kind of what we’re here for, you know. The whole Battle Tree thing.” He shut his laptop and Pikachu jumped, leaping up from his lap to go back on the floor by Red. “So you can stay up as late as you want, but I’m telling him we’ll catch the first ferry we can.”

Red gave a thumbs-down, still watching Meowth as she rolled over to show her belly. _Early._

“I don’t give a shit.” He looked up the ferry times on his phone. “Oh, great. The first one leaves at eight. So we can wake up at around six, and that gives us about two hours to get up and eat and get down to the docks.”

_N-o._

“Red, we’re here to work.”

_Early_.

“You’re the one who slept all day. Suck it up.”

He fell asleep as Red stayed up to play with Meowth.


	4. Chapter 4

Blue woke up at seven. Red was snoring loudly, curled up on his side around Pikachu. She looked unhappy. He almost fell out of bed and kicked the mattress to wake Red up, going through his suitcase to find something to wear. “We’re late, get up,” he croaked out, his voice hoarse from sleep.

He managed to get ready in twenty minutes, clothes on and hair and teeth brushed. Red was still laying on the air mattress, blinking sleep away. “Get the fuck up, man, we aren’t going to be late for this thing.” He kicked him again, in the butt and harder this time.

_Fuck you_ , Red signed bitterly, rolling back over.

Blue groaned and decided to just leave the room, Meowth watching him curiously from her perch on the dresser. As he put some bread in the toaster, he heard a rough sounding yelp and watched Meowth scurry out into the living room, looking pleased.

Red slowly walked out into the kitchen ten minutes later, dressed but looking horrible. A bright red bite mark was harsh on his pale arm. Blue choked back a loud laugh.

They got to the ferry three minutes before it was set to take off. Blue watched Melemele get smaller and smaller as they sailed across the ocean, wishing he was on Blastoise or something and not stuck inside the ferry.

Red fell asleep almost as soon as he sat down in his seat.

Kukui greeted them when they got off at Seafolk Village, along with some kid. Red and Kukui were the same height. And Blue couldn’t help but think he was just a little bit more handsome in person than on the television. They all shook hands, and the kid introduced himself as Elio, Selene’s brother.

As they travelled through the Poni Wilds, he could tell Red wanted to run off to go catch Pokémon. His eyes seemed to bug out when they passed by the Vast Poni Canyon, and Blue nearly smacked him on the head to _snap out of it, you aren’t fucking off to another mountain._

And much to his surprise, he totally hit it off with Kukui. He was expecting to be fed up trying to talk to the other man, but they got along better than he thought they would. They chatted and talked about everything from Pokémon to the Battle Tree to the League to the region itself to even Kanto, of all things.

“Yeah, I travelled through Kanto a few years ago,” Kukui said, smiling brightly. “I did not beat the League, though. Indigo is hard, yeah?”

“Yeah, it’s pretty tough,” Blue agreed, trying to think back to twenty years ago. “How many years ago did you do it?”

“Oh, maybe ten or so years ago.”

So Blue would have been in Unova. “How did you get the Earth Badge?”

“Huh?”

“Oh, wait. Just kidding, I know how you got it.” Blue felt really stupid. “My head trainer was approved to give them out. Right.”

“Oh, right! You are the gym leader for that gym!” And then they were off to talking about the gyms and the trial sites. Elio and Red looked like they were getting along well enough, Red nodding or shaking his head at what Elio was saying to show he was listening, even if he wasn’t exactly looking at him.

Kukui and Blue were a couple paces ahead of the other two, and after a moment of silence from Kukui, Blue jumped when a cold hand touched his elbow. “Oh, sorry! Did not mean to startle you,” Kukui laughed off, taking a step closer to Blue. He lowered his voice. “I noticed that Red is not one for talking. Is he normally like this?”

And there it was. “Oh, yeah. Yeah. He, uh…can’t really talk,” Blue explained, not sure why he was. “He has a speech impediment. He usually uses sign language, but it’s not exactly a universal language.”

“I’m sorry, a what?” Kukui must not know that word in Kantonian.

“Universal, like world-wide—”

“No, no. The other one. His speech.”

“Impediment?” Kukui nodded and Blue tried to think of how to explain it. “He just has trouble talking. It’s something he hasn’t been able to fix.”

“Ohhh, okay. I understand.” He nodded again to himself. “Okay.”

Blue didn’t know why he suddenly felt really relieved.

The Battle Tree was beautiful and an actual tree. Blue wasn’t sure why he thought it would be anything other than a huge fucking tree, but he figured it would just be like the World Championship stadium in Unova. He bit back a smile as Red tilted his head back to look up at the top.

Kukui gave them a tour of the facility, showing the space where trainers would be able to heal their Pokémon and trade in their Battle Points for items and TMs. Blue vaguely mentioned _oh, like the Battle Subway, then_ and Red caught his eye, nodding.

Blue didn’t know about Red, but he personally spent way too much time in the Battle Subway back when they were in Unova. He managed to beat most of the basic trains and the Super Double Train Boss (after maybe ten tries), and he bought at least one of every single item they had in their shop. He had to go back to Kanto before he had a chance to beat the Super Single Train Boss.

They went up a few floors, circling up the tree and looking out over the platforms. “It is almost finished, but not yet,” Kukui explained, gesturing up towards the very top of the tree. “They are still making the top few floors, but they should be finished in a couple more days.”

“It looks and sounds great, man,” Blue complimented, and Red nodded. “What did you need us to do?”

“Well, since it is inspired by the other battle facilities around the world, I was thinking,” he said, pointing to Blue and then Red, “you two could be bosses! We do mostly single and double battles here in Alola, so it would be up to you two to decide who is the boss of what. Maybe even multi battles, if you two are willing to work together.”

“Is it just gonna be us?”

Kukui nodded, grinning brightly. “Of course! Well, other champions will be here, too, but you two are going to be the main bosses of the tree.”

“You guys are the original duo!” Elio broke in, smiling as widely as Kukui was. Blue just noticed he had a bit of a twang ( _Probably from Johto_ , Blue thought.) “It was my idea, by the way.”

Red looked a little embarrassed. Blue laughed a bit. “Well, I wouldn’t really say _that_ —”

“Y’all were the youngest champions ever!” Elio interrupted, and Blue felt a smile raise on his face. “You set a standard. Selene wanted to start on her journey when she was ten, but our mom made us finish middle school first.”

“Well, I’m glad I made a difference in _someone’s_ life,” Blue said, running a hand through his hair. Red was looking incredibly embarrassed.

They got back to Seafolk Village around dusk, barely catching the last ferry for the day. Blue watched as Elio took off on a Charizard with some kind of riding gear on it, and Kukui said he was going to be staying in the village for the next few days to oversee the construction of the tree. Red actually stayed awake for the ride back, watching the ocean pass by beside them through the window.

The lights were still on in Samson’s house. Red stopped him from opening the door by putting a hand on his shoulder. Blue didn’t really want to turn around to look at him, but he did anyways. To humor him. “What’s up.”

_You are mad._

Blue rolled his eyes and clicked his tongue. “No shit. Who are you, Detective Looker?”

Red looked frustrated. _Go hunting tomorrow._ He pointed to himself after he signed it.

He wanted Blue to go exploring with him. To hunt for Pok _é_ mon. Just like the old days, when they were young and ten and dumber and still somewhat friends. Blue didn’t know whether he should laugh or scoff. “Why.” Is what he settled for.

_You are mad. Why not._ Red had a completely flat look on his face as he signed. _You like looking for Pok _é_ mon._ _You are mad._

Blue was starting to get aggravated with how often Red was telling him he was mad. He knew he was mad. He didn’t need to be told that. “Why am I mad?”

All Red did was point at himself. Blue felt his throat tighten up.

“Try again tomorrow morning.” As he turned back around, Red snatched his wrist. “What? What do you want?”

_Battle me_.

“The fuck? Now?”

Red grabbed one of his Pok _é_ balls from his belt and nodded. _I win, you come._

Blue sighed and looked down at his own belt. He had all of his team with him. Why the fuck not. “Sure. Whatever. Let’s battle.”

He got his ass completely handed to him.

He only managed to take down Red’s Blastoise and Lapras, loosing Exeggutor, Aerodactyl and Machamp in the process. Pikachu destroyed Gyarados. Alakazam’s only hit didn’t do enough to take down Red’s Venusaur. And Snorlax’s High Horsepower KO’d his Arcanine in one hit. Honestly, he wasn’t really expecting the battle to end in his favor. “Okay,” he said, calling back Arcanine back into her ball. “You win.”

Red called back Snorlax and had a strange look on his face as he approached Blue. _You did not try_ , he signed, looking angry. _Free win._

“I don’t know what the hell you’re on about,” he sighed, hoping the Center was still open this late. “You just kicked my ass fair and square. Why would I willingly want to go hunting with you tomorrow? I would’ve just told you that instead of agreeing to a battle.”

_What’s your problem?_ Red signed, probably not meaning for it to come across as offensive has it had. _Not your best._

That hurt way more than it had any right to. “Look, you won, okay? It doesn’t matter how _hard_ I tried or whatever, I gave that my all,” Blue snapped, making Red lean away from him. “You’re just better. Like always. Get in your thick head.”

_Easy—_

“Don’t _fucking_ rub it in, okay?” He started walking down the road in front of Samson’s house. It was completely dark now, and stars twinkled in the sky. “Just tell me when you want to leave in the morning when I get back.”

He got back and it was nearly midnight. Red was sitting in the living room, watching some movie as Pikachu played with Meowth and Eevee. He didn’t look up at Blue when he let the door close a little too harshly, or when he let his bag drop heavily on the floor next to the door. He could feel Red’s eyes on him as he walked back into the kitchen to grab something small to eat before bed. He was starving.

Eevee followed him into the kitchen and tugged on his pant leg, begging for a pet. He caved and stooped over to scratch behind her ears, letting a smile hesitantly come on his lips.

That battle fucked him up. Yeah, he was expecting Red to win. But he wasn’t expecting him to win that fast, or that easily. The battle was only about ten minutes long. As he munched on his toast, he clicked open his wallet and started counting the bills. The usual 120 times…Alakazam was level 69, now. Well. Red was getting rich tonight. After punching the numbers into his phone’s calculator, he counted 8,280 pok _é_ s and sighed in annoyance. That was a little more than half his cash.

He went into the living room, Eevee trailing behind him, and stopped in front of Red. Said man looked up in confusion when Blue held out the wad of money. “Here you go. Your winnings. Exact and everything.”

Red frowned before pushing Blue’s hand back to him. _Keep_ , he signed, trying to look around Blue to keep watching his movie. _Give when you try._

“Alright, listen—”

_Leave at ten_ , he went on, ignoring Blue. _See you._

Blue went to sleep absolutely pissed off that evening.


	5. Chapter 5

Red was the one shaking him awake in the morning. He was already dressed and looked ready to take off. “What time is it,” Blue asked groggily, pushing Red away from him. His phone said 9:18. “Alright, what the fuck.”

_Late yesterday,_ Red explained, looking a little ashamed. _Early today._

“You said ten. I’m not moving until 9:45.”

Red sighed and sat down on the air mattress heavily, bouncing Pikachu up and making her spark in surprise. Blue rolled back over and shut his eyes tightly, trying to ignore the very obvious presence of Red staring at him and waiting for him to get up.

He couldn’t deal with this. “Fine, fine. I’ll get up. Whatever.”

Red jumped up and left the room, bag jingling and Pikachu zapping at his heels. Blue had never felt more attuned to her in the twenty years he’d known her.

Ten rolled around and as soon as the clock changed, Blue was practically dragged out of the house by Red, watching Samson waving good-bye in good nature. They left Hau’oli to the east instead of the north, and as they passed by the trainer’s school, Blue was really starting to feel like a child. A Center was next to the school, and a lone house stood at the end of the dirt road, looking all homely.

Red took a sharp turn to the right and started jumping down ledges and towards the beach, not waiting for Blue to catch up at all. There was a house Blue could only describe as a decrepit shack, with a roof that looked barely nailed on and boards sloppily covering holes. The sign next to it read _Pok _é_ mon Research Lab, Professor Kukui_.

Why was Blue not surprised at all. He saw Red walking off in the direction of a cave and he nearly smacked himself in the face. Red was going into the closest thing to a mountain cave as he could get on this island. Even more unsurprising. It felt like a recurring theme in his life, as of late.

The cave was freezing cold. Blue assumed it was from the breeze from the ocean, but he was really regretting only wearing shorts and a tank top. Red looked as okay as ever, even as his hat nearly flew off of his head from the gush of air that came from the cave. “Why do you always find mountains?” Blue asked, trying to rub heat back into his arms. “It’s like you have a dousing machine specifically for them.”

Red only shrugged.

The predicable cries of Zubat rang in his ears and Blue was remembering why he hated travelling through caves back in Kanto: nothing but Zubat and maybe a Diglett or two. He could faintly hear the echoes of a Pok _é_ mon battle going on in the depths of the cave, the trainer shouting something in Alolan. The ground rumbled under him and he tried to sidestep the trembling rocks. A Diglett was probably trying to tunnel beneath them.

Red froze and Blue almost bumped into him. He watched as a spike of yellow something popped out of the ground, and almost burst out laughing when the rest came up. It was a Diglett. And it looked ridiculous with a tuft of hair sprouting out of its head.

Blue watched as Red slowly took his Pok _é_ dex out of his pocket to scan the little guy, probably trying his best to not startle it. It looked around the cave and froze when it noticed the two trainers behind it.

Watching Red catch Pokémon was something _interesting_ , to say the least. He and Blue had two completely methods. Blue did the normal method of weakening it before throwing a ball. Red…crouched on the ground and let the Pokémon approach him, letting it decide if it wanted to get to know him or not. Blue almost forgot about how different it was.

The Diglett slowly approached Red, and Red didn’t move at all. Only when it came up and sniffed his knee did he take his hand and hold it out. A berry was pinched between his fingers. It sniffed the berry before it cautiously ate it, letting Red pat its head gently. When it became obvious it was happy, he took out a Pokéball and tapped its head, waiting until it snapped shut to stand back up again.

Blue’s only thought was, _that was pretty cool_.

They went deeper and deeper until they came across a big clearing, filled with tall grass and a couple of trainers. A dog-like Pokémon ran out in front of them, and Blue almost tripped over it. It was cute, from what little he saw as it zoomed past. Red held out his Pokédex and an image of it was up, right below the name Rockruff. It…was adorable.

Blue took the right side of the field and Red took the left, each looking for the little dog Pokémon. As Blue crouched in the grass, a pair of wide blue eyes stared back at him, and he almost fell on his ass. Its nose twitched cutely. He released Meowth from her ball, hoping she would be able to weaken it enough for capture. He commanded Bite and was confused when the Rockruff didn’t even flinch. In fact, it just looked confused as to what hit it.

So then it wasn’t a Normal type, like he thought. _Great._

He let her bite at it a couple more times before he threw a Pokéball, looking at his Pokédex in confusion when it sealed. _Rockruff, the Puppy Pokémon. A Rock type_ _._ Well, that was completely unexpected. He knew Daisy wasn’t super fond of Rock types, always complaining they had no appeal and were horrible for beauty contests, but maybe she’d like this one.

After all, it was fucking adorable.

Blue’s watch beeped when it was noon, and he looked off over at the other side to see Red sitting on the ground with a Rockruff in his lap, licking at his face. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, that was pretty adorable, too. They made eye contact and Red’s face almost screamed for help. As he tried to make his way over to him, Red started reaching back for his bag, probably to dig around for a ball. He managed to fish one out and tapped the Rockruff’s nose with the button on the ball, smiling when it sealed instantly.

Blue was only a little jealous of how fast Pokémon warmed up to Red, but it wasn’t like he was going to say anything about it. His team loved him well enough, with years of experience and learning each other’s personalities at their backs. Red was just good. _Talented_ , as his grandfather would say. _He has a knack for Pokémon. I’ve never seen a Pokémon warm up to someone as quickly as his do._

_Yeah,_ he would say.

_It’s almost not fair._

They spent the rest of the day wandering around Hau’oli, entering different shops and buildings. They each bought malasadas from the shop, Blue getting a spicy one and Red getting a sweet one. He almost snorted at how Red’s face scrunched up when he bit into it, signing something like _way too sweet_. Blue didn’t want to admit he was sort of having fun.

They went back to Samson’s when it was completely dark outside. Dinner tonight was a mushroom cream soup, and Blue had to pretend he liked it. (It was only a little gross, but Red seemed to like it well enough to eat two bowls.)

Bedtime rolled around and their Rockruffs were playing together, chasing each other around and nipping at each other’s tails. Blue was reading a book and suddenly Red was sitting down next to him on the bed. “Uh, what’s up?”

Red was quiet, still and just watching the two puppies fall over one another. _Fun?_ He finally signed, pointing at Blue.

“Did I have fun?” Red nodded and Blue thought for a moment. “…yeah, I guess.”

Red smiled and Blue could only stare at him in confusion. _You don’t look like something is stuck in your butt anymore_.

“Yeah, whatever.”

_Still mad_.

Blue didn’t answer. He didn’t know what he could even answer that with. So, he chose instead to get up and go take a shower, leaving Red to watch him as he left the room.

He came back and a note was sitting on his pillow. Red’s stuff and Rockruff were gone, and his Rockruff lay curled up on the air mattress.

_I went to go train Diglett and Rockruff. I know you’re still mad at me but I don’t know what to do to make it better. Sorry._

His number was written under the short, badly written note. He forgot how horrible Red’s handwriting was, and also how he hadn’t had Red’s number. He did at some point but deleted it after the Indigo League fiasco. In a burst of anger, if he remembered correctly.

The next week passed by and was completely uneventful. He and Red didn’t talk much to each other. Blue would wake up after Red was gone, and he would go and explore the island more. He stopped by Kukui’s place a few times to see if he was home or not and learned the house at the end of the road was Selene and Elio’s.

Iki Town reminded him too much of Pallet, and Hala reminded him too much of Samuel. He went to the Ruins of Conflict and left the town as soon as he was done. He received a couple of texts from Kukui, some asking how his time is going in Alola and others asking for advice on the Battle Tree.

He also got a phone call from his grandfather, which he pointedly ignored. He also ignored Daisy’s call later that same day. He knew the pattern.

At night, he would fall asleep before Red came back, and would wake up in the middle of the night to hear him snoring from the floor.

The day finally came where it was time to open the Battle Tree. He was woken up by another phone call, and knew it was Kukui before he answered it.

“Blue Oak,” he answered, clearing his throat. Red was gone. “What’s up?”

“Blue! Alola!” He was starting to get more and more used to Kukui’s energy. “Today is the day! Everything is built and stable and ready for battling!”

“Oh, great! Awesome, when do you—”

“Oh, is Red there?” He was also getting more used to the interruptions. “I want you two to both be at the grand opening today.”

Well, shit. “Uh, well…no?”

“No? What does that mean?”

“He…isn’t exactly talking to me,” Blue said, cringing all the way at how awful that sounded. “Or looking at me. I’ve barely seen him over the last week.”

“What? Is he okay?”

“Uh, maybe?”

“Call me back as soon as you hear from him, then. Or I’ll call you if he contacts me.” Kukui sounded worried. “I’ll keep an eye out.”

“I mean, he’s probably fine, but—”

“Oh, I have to go! I’m getting another call. Alola, cousin!”

Blue started dialing Red up before he thought about what he was doing. Red picked up before he could change his mind. “Uh…hello?” He said when the dial tone cut out.

“ _Hhh-h-hey._ ” He certainly wasn’t expecting Red to actually say anything.

“You need to come back. Kukui said the Battle Tree is ready.” He almost hung up but then Red started speaking again.

“ _Oh. O-ook-kk-k-ay._ ” Red hung up on him.

Blue felt weird and he didn’t know why. A message buzzed in on his phone. _I’ll be back in ten minutes. About to fly._

He sent a text to Kukui telling him they would be able to catch the noon ferry. Right after he sent it, another message popped up.

_The police told me I can’t fly. What the fuck._

_I’ll be back in thirty minutes._

Blue snorted and told Kukui, _never mind, we’ll catch the 13:30 ferry_.

Red was complaining the whole ferry ride, signing way too quickly for Blue to read everything he was saying. He caught something like _why the hell can’t I fly, I have badges, laws here are dumb_ and a few profanities. It was kind of funny.

As they got off the ferry, Red crossed his arms angrily when he saw Kukui. “Alola, you two!” Kukui greeted, shaking Blue’s hand happily. “Was your ferry okay?”

“Yeah, his panties are twisted because he got in trouble for trying to fly. Don’t translate that,” he added to Elio.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Elio snickered.

Red _pouted_ for the entire walk down to the Battle Tree. “Come on, man,” Blue said, rolling his eyes. “You weren’t always able to fly, you know. Walking’s good for you, anyways.”

Red signed, _dumb. Not fair. Want to fly. Tell Loudred-Kukui._ Red’s sign for Kukui was the same as Loudred: an L pumped out three times.

“Alright, you can’t keep calling him that. Because I’ll fuck up and say it on accident.”

Kukui explained that he could only fly on official trained Ride Pokémon, and Red signed what the fuck. Blue could tell Kukui understood that one. He laughed awkwardly and explained it was just more convenient than having to keep track of all the trainers who were approved to use a Fly HM. Kids who were on their trials would earn a Ride Charizard to use as a sort of rite of passage.

Red signed, _stupid._

“Well, we can’t exactly do the trial,” Blue agreed, and Red nodded enthusiastically. “And Red does have a Charizard. Is there a way to, like…bypass or something?”

“It’s just the law here,” Kukui apologized, and Elio shrugged in response.

“Things are close enough, anyways,” the kid said, and Red gave him a hard look. “I only really use my Charizard if I’m in a hurry or more than an island away.”

_Was hurrying_ , Red signed, and Blue shrugged. It was probably best to just leave it there. He’d rather not get on the bad side of his hosts.

The facility was beautiful and crowded. The bottom shops were built up and a couple attendants were sitting behind the counters, different prizes and items strung up behind them. A group of people were surrounding the entrance, mostly reporters from the looks of it. Red tensed up beside him. As they made their way to the front, Red crossed his arms tightly in front of his chest and refused to look at anyone.

Blue could vaguely make out some of the comments, and he heard his and Red’s names a couple of times. It felt familiar. He was reminded of the press conference that was held after Red became Champion. Red’s body language screamed _discomfort_.

Kukui greeted the crowd in Alolan and Blue didn’t understand anything except _Red, Blue, Kanto Champions,_ and _Battle Tree_. He turned to the two of them and said, “Just say a few words, it’ll be translated.” Elio gave him a thumbs-up.

Blue felt weird standing in front of a bunch of people who couldn’t understand him. Kantonian wasn’t a widely-spoken language, and Unovan was usually a second language for most people. But his Unovan was far from perfect.

As he stood in front of the mic next to Elio, he could only think, _is this how Red feels all the time?_

Once the opening ceremony was over, they took a tour of the finished facility, going all the way up to the top floor. It was a spectacular area, and Blue could see the entire island as he looked out over the railings. Red looked a bit more comfortable being away from the crowd. “So,” he said, turning to Kukui. “When do we start working?”

“As soon as you want! We’re still working on recruiting trainers, but we have enough to start doing single battles.”

Red looked up at the mention of single battles. “Okay, so then I won’t be needed for a while. Red said he was gonna be the boss for the singles.” Why did that feel so weird to say?

“Well, you’re free to help out as much as you want to,” Kukui said, patting him on the shoulder. “Trainers are showing up like Pok _émon flocking to Sweet Scent.”_

All Blue could say was, “Yeah, sure. I’ll do what I can.”


	6. Chapter 6

He called Daisy the next morning, which was a little different than normal. (He tried to pretend he wasn’t completely changing the game.) She picked up after four rings, right when Blue was considering ending the call. “Oak Massages, how can I help you?”

“Daisy, it’s me.”

“Blue! Oh. Hey, what’s up?”

“You busy?”

“Well…”

Blue sighed. “It’s not that big of a deal. Don’t worry about it.”

“What’s wrong, bro?”

“Just feeling like a kid again,” he said, kicking back on his bed. Eevee was getting used to Rockruff, sniffing and shying away. “There’s something wrong with me. I think I’m having my midlife crisis.”

“Could be the Alolan winds, little bro. You know what they say.”

He didn’t. “Uh, sureeee…are you busy?”

“Not really. Just waiting for my appointments to get here. Some paperwork. Normal stuff.”

“Cool. Am I wrong?”

“What?” Daisy sounded really confused. “About what?”

“Just…yes or no? I just need something to work with.”

Daisy was quiet for a while. “Oh-kay. Why are you always so cryptic?” Blue laughed tiredly. “Alright. Well, I think it’s ultimately up to you, since you’re an adult and have been one for ten years and know what you’re talking about better than I do.”

“That’s a _mom_ answer, Daisy. Come on.”

“…no, but you need to work out your emotions yourself to find out what the real answer is. Take a day to meditate.” She hummed. “If you were home, I’d offer you a massage.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

“You’re a big kid, Blue. You’ve got this.” She giggled when he groaned. “A day off is good for the body, mind, and soul.”

“Alright, now you sound too much like a therapist.”

“I’ve gotta go, Blue. Don’t forget to send me that Cutiefly!”

“Oh, yeah, I’m doing it _right_ now, don’t worry.” He completely forgot about it. “See you.”

He hung up and felt even more confused and stressed than when he first called her. Eevee bit his toe and he jumped, drawing in on himself. He looked down at his phone and looked at his last call, which had been to Red. He shrugged and swiped to call him again.

The phone rang once and Blue instantly ended the call. What would he gain from calling Red, exactly? He wasn’t much of a gossip. And he was probably busy. Blue sighed and grabbed his GameBoy off of the nightstand when Red _called him back._ “Uh, ‘sup?” Smooth.

Red took a moment to say something. “ _W-w-ww-what-tt?_ ”

“What?”

“ _W-wwh-hy d-dd-did-d y-you c-cc-c-callll?_ ” Red asked, sounding tired and confused. “ _T-tt-t-ttt-train-n-ning-gg._ ”

“Yeah, uh, sorry. Mis-clicked. Didn’t mean to bother you.”

“ _T-tt-talk-kk-k-k?_ ”

“…what?” He knew Red hated repeating himself.

As he expected, he clicked his tongue in aggravation. “ _D-dd-do you n-nnn-need to t-tt-t-talk?_ ” He sounded frustrated.

Blue felt horrible. “No, I’m fine. I didn’t mean to call. Sorry.”

“ _O-oo-okk-k-kayy_. _B-bb-bye._ ”

Eevee crawled up on his lap and stuck her head between his phone and his chest, trying to lick his nose. “Am I wrong, girl?”

She looked at him with that cute little face of hers, whined, and licked his cheek. He looked at Meowth curled up on the air mattress and watched Rockruff chase his tail wildly. He flopped back down on his bed and rolled over, almost crushing Eevee.

Red wasn’t home for dinner, and Samson was mostly quiet as they ate together. Blue wanted to take his meal back into his room and hide, like he used to do when he was grounded. It felt a little empty. “Blue,” Samson said, a warm smile on his face. “Have you and Red been getting along okay?”

“Uh, well—”

“Samuel told me about what happened.”

_Of course he did. Dick._ “Yeah, well.” He poked his fork into his salad. “I’m over it.”

“Doesn’t seem too much like it, cousin.”

“Well, you don’t know the context, anyways.” Why was Blue’s first instinct to be a shit. “It’s not really your business to know about.”

“I know.” He had a twinkle in his eye. “I’m just curious, Blue. You don’t need to get defensive.”

“I’m not—…okay.” There was no doubt in Blue’s mind that Samuel and Samson shared the same blood, now. “Imagine someone important to you just…vanishes. Like they never existed. And then, three years later, you find out they were closer than you thought. But you still don’t see or talk to one another.”

“Three years?”

Blue wasn’t finished. “Then, two more years later, and you see each other for the first time in five years. Then, they leave again. No explanation. Nothing. Just…up and gone. And then, _fifteen years_ later, they’re back in your life again. With no explanation other than, _I forgot_.”

“I’d feel blessed.”

“ _Blessed_?” Blue spat, glaring at Samson. “Blessed? Fifteen years of radio silence! What the fuck was I supposed to think? No one had seen or heard from him! His mom thought he was dead! She was _heartbroken_ when I came back from Unova alone!”

Samson watched Blue steam in rage for a moment. “Well, from what I understand—”

_Don’t say it. Don’t._

“Your grandfather says you’re more in the wrong than he is, given.” He ended there. Blue sat in silence, waiting for him to explain. Nothing came.

“Given? Given what?” _Don’t say it._

“Samuel said he’s a different learner—”

Blue stood up, knocking his chair back. “He’s not _stupid_. Sometimes, I wish he was, but he’s not. He’s one of the smartest people I’ve ever met in my life.”

Samson held his hands up. “I’m sure. I’m just repeating what I was told, Blue. Calm down.”

He didn’t. “He would know better than anyone how smart he is. He would know. He’s a total dumbass when it comes to handling people, but he’s the smartest _fucking_ person I’ve ever met otherwise. Worlds smarter than _him._ ”

“Blue—”

“When did he tell you that? _Why_ did he tell you that?”

Samson brought a hand to his chin, thinking. “Listen, Blue, I’m not calling Red anything. I just want to understand.”

“Understand what?”

“Samuel said you nearly broke his nose.”

“Who gives a shit what he says? That wasn’t and isn’t his business to tell!” Samson didn’t answer and Blue sighed in anger, picking up his bowl and leaving his chair on the floor. “I’m going for a walk.”

The wind from the ocean didn’t do much to cool him off. He sat cross-legged in the sand, digging his hand deep into it and picking out small seashells. A Krabby scuttled up on the shore, burrowing in the sand to look for food. He could barely make out a couple way down at the other end of the beach, walking along the water.

Blue felt like shit. Hearing Samson talk about his grandfather set him off, and Blue thought he had grown out of that. Samson didn’t deserve to be talked to like that, Blue knew that, but he wasn’t about to just let it sit and fester. And he knew he didn’t want to call Samuel up to cuss him out about _stay in your own lane and don’t talk about people_. Not only would he probably be disowned (something that was bound to happen eventually), but it would be hypocritical.

His watch showed he had been out for a little over an hour. He left his phone charging on the nightstand, so hopefully no one was looking for him. He sighed before laying down in the sand, looking up into the sky.

He could only pray Samson didn’t kick him out as soon as he got back.

Blue woke up shivering, and almost cussed himself out. He fell asleep on the beach. It was almost one in the morning. The tide was way higher than it was when he first got out there, nearly snagging his feet. He sat up quickly and tried to shake the sand from his hair and checked his shoes for any unwelcome guests. He sprinted back to Samson’s.

The door was unlocked, surprisingly. The lights were off, except for one lamp next to the couch. Red sat curled up in the corner of it, and he jumped up when Blue walked in. He looked exhausted. _Where were you?_ He signed quickly. _Samson said you ran at nine. It’s two._

“I was busy.” (Busy sleeping, but he left that part out.) “What are you doing?”

_Waiting. Worried. Samson said you were mad._

“I’m over it.”

_Stop lying._

Blue rolled his eyes and Red made eye contact with him. “I’m not. I’m over it.” He felt nervous as Red refused to look away. “Look, I’m really tired, okay? I’m going to take a shower, and then I’m going to sleep.”

Red was sitting up when Blue walked back in the room. Pikachu was sleeping in his lap. He looked like he hadn’t taken his eyes away from the door. _Why fight?_

Blue really didn’t want to talk anymore. “What are you talking about?”

_You get mad, and you fight. Why? Don’t understand. You yell. Don’t yell, talk._

Blue didn’t answer, and just lay down on the bed, facing away from Red. He shut his eyes when he heard Red get up and curled up more when he shook his shoulder. “Leave me alone, Red.”

He didn’t, and his shoves got more aggressive. “Red, fuck off!”

Red punched him between his shoulder blades and it took everything in him to not turn and kick him in the face. He didn’t move, and eventually Red sat back down on the air mattress. He didn’t fall asleep until after Red started snoring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good shit happens next chapter i promise


	7. Chapter 7

Blue woke up with a jolt when he heard someone trip and fall. Red lay in the space between the bed and the air mattress, and Meowth was perched next to his pillow, hissing. “Uh, you okay?” He reached towards Meowth and let her rub her cheek against his palm. “Red?”

He gave Blue a thumbs-up and slowly pushed himself up. _Come with me_ , he spelled with one hand, rubbing his face with the other one. _Battle Tree._

He didn’t wait for an answer and walked out of the room, giving Meowth a dirty look as he closed the door. Blue sighed and got out of bed to get ready to leave.

Samson wasn’t in the kitchen or living room, and Blue wasn’t sure if he was happy or not about it.

The ride to Poni Island was quiet and mostly empty except for one or two other people. Red woke him up early enough for them to catch the first ferry of the day.

He checked his phone for the first time since around noon the previous day. Twelve missed calls, one from Samson, three from Samuel, and the rest from Red. Ten unread texts, all from Red and saying basically the same thing: _Where are you?_ and _Are you okay?_ He even had three voicemails, but only one was from his grandfather. The other two were from Red. He glanced over to see Red staring out the window of the ferry before he tapped his voicemail to listen.

_First unopened message:_

_“B-bb-bl-blue, w-ww-w-wh-ere...where a-a-are y-y-yy-ou? It-t-t...it’s l-l-late, a-aa-and-dd S-ss-ss-samss-son is w-ww-wor-rried-dd. H-hhe s-ssaid-d you t-tt-two f-f-ff-fought-t.”_

He hesitantly deleted it and kept listening.

_Next unopened message:_

“ _I understand that you argued with Samson, and were quite rude about it. I don’t know all of the details, but call me once you calm—”_

Delete.

_Next unopened message:_

“ _B-b-bblue, I knnn-know-ww y-y-yyou’re-ee mad-dd-d at-t-t mme, b-b-bbut-t-t I’m r-rreally w-w-ww-worr-ried-d ab-b-bbout-t you. Please c-cc-com-mme b-bb-back. I—oh, y-y-you...l-ll-left y-y-your-rr ph-phh-phone.”_

That was the most he had ever heard Red say in a single sitting.

Blue tapped Red on the arm, feeling guilty when he looked away from the window. “Hey, uh…I’m…sorry I worried you last night.” He held up his phone. “I, uh…just saw your messages.”

Red furrowed his brows and turned away from Blue. _We will talk later,_ he signed, returning his attention to the ocean. The way he looked, it was implied to be a statement and not a suggestion.

Four trainers made it to the top of the Battle Tree, and Red swept through all of them like it was nothing. It had been forever since he had sat and watched Red as he battled, and not just catch him out of the corner of his eye as he stood on the other side of the field.

For all the shit Red put him and his mom through, his Pokémon were certainly trained to a T. Red barely moved, only making a few small gestures with his hands for his team to follow. Every once and a while he would whistle as a signal. Sometimes, a clap. He had that bright and competitive shine in his eyes. Sometimes, there wasn’t a signal. They just knew what to do.

It was almost like a moving painting.

Once the sun started to set, they went back to Seafolk and boarded the ferry again, just as quiet as they were in the morning.

Samson wasn’t home. Blue made himself and Red a couple of sandwiches to eat.

As they sat and ate, Blue kept his eyes on Red, who was steadfast staring at his plate. He twitched when Meowth rubbed up against his leg and reached his arm down to pet her. Blue took a sip of water and leaned back in his chair, the setting feeling familiar. Only Red was in Samson’s place. “Alright. Let’s talk.”

Red took the last bite of his sandwich before raising his hands. _Tell me why you’re mad at me._

He could do that without getting upset, right? Right. “Well, first, you beat me in the Indigo League, but I’m totally over that now. Then, you vanished, and Kris told me she found you hiding away on Mt. Silver. Two years later. I’m over that, too. Sort of.”

_The point._

“Hold on, I want to be thorough. Unova, three years after I found out where you were. You show up for the World Championships. I remember freaking out about it, because I was pissed that someone other than your _friends and family_ got you to come to civilization, but whatever. Whatever.” He was starting to feel bitter.

_Blue._ He forgot Red’s sign for his name was the letter B pressed against his lips. ( _You’re always talking_ , he had explained when they were kids.)

“Do you know how long ago we were in Unova?” Red did nothing but watch Blue. “Fifteen years ago. Fifteen. Years. _Years_. Do you know how many days that is?”

Red was motionless for a moment. _Five thousand, four hundred, and seventy-five._

“No one knew where you were for over five thousand days.” His face started feeling hot. “You show up to some event in Unova that you didn’t tell anyone you were going to, said nothing to anyone, left a week early, and then vanished again.”

_I was travelling_.

“So what? You could have _told_ someone, written a letter, shot a text, _something, Red_ —”

_I forgot to._

That pushed it. “You _forgot_ for fifteen years?! I could understand a day, maybe a week. A month is pushing it. Not a year. Not fifteen. Forgetting isn’t an excuse.”

_It’s the truth._

“Why didn’t you just _say something_? That’s the problem!”

_I can’t T-A-L-K._

That stung a little. “You know what I mean. You saw me for the first time in five years. You could have mentioned, _oh, yeah, I’m taking off to explore the world, don’t look for me and tell my mom I’m okay._ You barely even said two words to me. Do you know how worried your mom was?”

_Why would I tell you?_

“Because—!” Blue bit his tongue. He knew what was about to come out of his mouth, and he knew it was a total lie.

_You weren’t my friend,_ Red finished, pursing his lips. _Not at all._

Blue sighed. “I-I know. I know. I know.” He dragged a hand over his face and let it cover his mouth. “I know we weren’t friends. We…probably still aren’t.”

Red suddenly stood up and left Blue sitting at the table, 100% confused. He was about to follow when he returned, a pen and notepad in his hand. He sat back down at started writing furiously. After a good three or four minutes, Red slid the notepad across the table. The first few pages were filled with his messy handwriting.

_I did miss you. When Grandpa called me back home, I almost didn’t come, but I wanted to go to Alola. I wasn’t even thinking about you until he mentioned you would be going too. Then I thought about not going. But when I really thought about it, I missed you. I didn’t think you would be as mad as you were. I didn’t think you were going to punch me._

_I stayed with Daisy for the month until we left. She wouldn’t stop talking about you. She said she thought you grew up enough to not talk with your fists and talked about how much you had changed. That you ran a gym. That you travelled Kanto helping people. That’s when I said I missed you. Because I did. I missed my friend Blue, not the Blue that bullied me._

_I want to be friends._

Blue wasn’t going to cry. He bit his lip and slid the notepad back to Red, who snatched it back and tore the pages out, dropping them on the floor. He started writing again.

Another minute passed before Red looked back up. He looked between Blue’s face and the notepad, and almost slid it back before yanking it back towards him and writing more. Another minute, and he finally turned it around for Blue to read. A lot was crossed out, compared to the last message.

_We’re both adults, and ~~we’re we’ve been~~ are ~~way~~ different than ~~what we were~~ when we were ten. Your birthday just passed two months ago. You’re thirty. I’m almost. ~~We There’s no~~ Things have changed a lot. I didn’t know you ran the gym. I didn’t know you studied in Kalos. ~~I didn’t~~ And there’s things about me that you don’t know. ~~I’m sorry I understand You can~~ I get why you’re mad at me. I can’t make up ten years._

_I was stupid to assume things were the same. Obviously, you’re not the same person you were ten years ago. I was still mad from how you acted during our journey when we were in Unova. You were a total bully. I should have understood, said something, but I didn’t, and I can’t undo what I did. You don’t have to forgive me, and I get it if you don’t. But I do want to be friends. I’m sorry._

Blue’s chest felt tight. “Remember when we were in elementary school and I beat up people because they made fun of you?”

Red nodded. _Why did you—_ He stopped. _Why were you mean?_

“I don’t have an answer for that.”

_You were like them. That’s why I didn’t talk to you. Didn’t—I wasn’t—_ Red paused, his fingers twitching. _Couldn’t understand. We were friends._

“Yeah, I know.”

_And then you hit me. I told Grandpa I changed my mind about Alola._ This was news. _Daisy talked me out of it._

“Sounds like her.” Leave it to Daisy to meddle with his life, especially when he couldn’t do anything about it. “So we were both mad with each other. For completely different reasons.”

Red shrugged. _I was pissed off._

_Me too_ , Blue thought. He slouched over the table, laying his arms on it. He sighed. “I…forgive you. I’ve spent the last month and a half thinking about it.”

_Mean it._

“I do. I forgive you.”

Red gave him a thumbs-up and leaned back in his chair, looking completely exhausted. He pointed to himself and gave a peace sign before crossing his arms. _Me too._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hahaa heyyy  
> I know it's been kind of a while since I've updated this, and I'm sorry about that, lots of personal stuff came up and school and work have been Rock-Ruff(lol), so hopefully this chapter makes up for it a little  
> But this is what I consider the "end" of part one. This isn't the end of the story, it's all gonna be one conglomerate piece of fanfic nonsense, but next chapter will be what I have in my docs as the start of "part two."


End file.
